Sensible Jew is a one-person website that was one of the first of the local Jewish Australian web2.0 presences.
Alex Fein’s views are not on the left, but she’s provocative, and like many other people it seems, wants more informed, and particularly respectful discussion, particularly because there was pretty much an organized campaign to mock her questioning of community ‘leadership’.
Author: AJDS
A couple of younger Melbourne Jewish writer-thinkers run an interesting website: Galusaustralis. It’s not a political website, its a mix of culture, religion, politics.
They too, are sick and tired of the one-party community.
A lot of the commentary is conservative, some of it comes from people associated with AJDS, some of it is very provocative, but its one of the few opportunties for people to exchange views, and sometimes, they are even funny!
Tuesday 9 March 2010
2pm
Parliament House Canberra
Joint Press conference
Kevin Rudd – Prime Minister
Tony Abbott – Leader of the Opposition
Thank you everyone for coming here today. What you are about to witness is an historic event. In honour of International Women’s Day 2010 and in light of Mr Abbott’s announcement yesterday this government, with the support of the Opposition is going to introduce a Paid Parental Leave scheme of 6 months duration beginning on 1st July 2010.
As I have written elsewhere, the apartheid analogy for Israel is incredibly discomforting for those on the left who while condemnatory of the occupation and the country’s internal faults, still believe that there is a change the country can become a country for all, and not for some.
Sol Salbe had this letter published in today’s (Melbourne) Age newspaper.
IT IS a pity such a talented writer as Julie Szego applies her journalistic scepticism unevenly (Age Comment, 3/3/10). She correctly refuses to accept as proof circumstantial evidence presented by the Dubai police chief as to Mossad’s culpability for the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. But she accepts as good coin what is said about Mabhouh.
The Sensible Jew manages to have a thoughtful post on this hot topic on her blog.
In the current debate surrounding the Australian passports used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, there are two equally unsound positions.
Firstly, there’s the shrill (if exultant) Anti-Zionist response, that often tips over into outright racism. (see readers comments at the end of the stories)
The Sensible Jew manages to have a thoughtful post on this hot topic on her blog.
In the current debate surrounding the Australian passports used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, there are two equally unsound positions.
Firstly, there’s the shrill (if exultant) Anti-Zionist response, that often tips over into outright racism. (see readers comments at the end of the stories)
Bteslem, the Israel Human Rights Organization in the Occupied Territories reports —
On 3 February 2010, the Hamas government submitted a 52-page report to the UN in advance of the debate in the General Assembly on the report of the Goldstone Fact-finding Mission. The Hamas report discusses, among other things, the measures the government has taken to implement the mission’s recommendations and the investigations it has carried out regarding breach of international law committed by its forces during Operation Cast Lead, and provides clarifications relating to attacks from within the Gaza Strip against civilians and civilian objects in Israel.
Various versions of this letter were published in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian today.
—————————-
The morality of extra-judicial killings is an extraordinarily difficult one, because they undermine the principle of the rule of law and particularly international law. Who would not have wanted to get rid of Hitler?
Daniel Sokatch is CEO of the New Israel Fund. Fortuitously, he has been in Australia at a time when a series of attacks on the integrity of the fund (and Naomi Chazan) have been circulating.
He spoke at the Shirah Hadashah synagogue on 24 February before a packed audience, and his talk is available for listening to directly or downloaded (mp3, right mouse click and save). The file is about 10mg in size and 47 minutes long). It stands to the credit of an inclusive Orthodox congregation that he was invited to speak. Kol ha-kavod!
Thanks to Daniel for permission to record.
It makes for fascinating listening.
[Photo source: http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a16779/News/New_York.html, but it seems to appear elsewhere as well…]